Automatic musical instrument.



L. H. MAIER.

AUTOMATIG MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1910.

Patented May 9, 1.911.

fimpawtoz 35 ig/Maw) l tozwu UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

LbUIS H. MAIER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

1'0 all whom it may concern.

' Be it known that 1, Louis H. Maren, a

citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, borough of the Bronx, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification. I I

This application is a division of my ap plication filed November 22, 1909, Serial- No. 529,254 for automatic musical instru-" ments, and the object of this invention is to provide an improved arrangement of player mechanism with respect to the action of the musical instruments.

' My invention comprises novel details of f improvement and combinations of parts that will be more fully'hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein,

Figure]. is a vertical section of a playerpiano embodying my improvements, Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail viewpartlyin section illustrating the action operating levers; Fig. 3 is a partly broken detail plan view, and Fig. 4 is a detail plan View illustrating indi vidual stops -At A is ihdicated a piano provided with pneumatics 1 and chests 2 which may be constructed as set forth in my said application Scl'ial No. 529,254, or in any suitable or well known manner. -The pneumatics and their emresponding chests 2- are secured within the piano frame in front of the strings 3 and the abstracts 26 of the action,

the chests being supported in anysuitable manner, the relative positions of the'pncumatics of each banker tier of pneumatics being such that pneumatics of one bank aline substantially with the spaces between the pueu matics of the adjacent bank, and the pneumaticsj are shown supported: so that 45 their movable boards hangdownwardly. It will .be understood that by making pneumatics sufficiently narrow and long and staggering the valves 7 and their seats with respect to the chest all the pneumaties may be placed upon one chest. At 25 is a. lever for each pneumatic, the end 25 of which is adapted to'act upon a projection 26 from the abstract 26 of the corresponding whippen 27 to lift the abstract and operate; the

corresponding jack and hammer wpen'lthc Specificationof Letters Patent.

Original application filed November 22, 1909,; Serial No. 529,254. Divided 1910. Serial No. 564,910.

lower end lever being maintained against 'of pneumatic l, or by both -meslui1g in threads in a hanger or. rail provided with a screw AUTOMA'TlJC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Patented May 9, 1911. and this application filed June 4,

pneumatic is collapsed. The levers 25 are pivoted upon suitable hangers or flanges 28 supported in any desired manner. The movable board of each pneumatic is connected with the corresponding lever 25 by a rod 29.

I have shown means for independently regulating the relation of lever 25 to the projection 26 of the corresponding abstract, and for limiting the stroke. of the lever 25 by the pneumatic. For this purpose the 25 of lever 25 is adapted to bear against an individualstop or. rail 30, the stop 30 by the expansion of them, the normal inactiveposition oi the parts being shown in Fig. 2. Stop or rail 30 is provided with a screw 31 adapted to turn freely in said stop and provided with threads 31" 7 i suitably supported, whereby when said screw is turned stop 30 willbe moved to the right or left in Fig.2 to adjust lever 25 with respect to projection 26". To limit the thrust of lever 25 by pneumatic 1, I provide a stud.

3. which has right and left threads, one thread mesh ing in threads in stop and the other thread meshingin threads in stop 30, whereby the distance between stops 30 and may be regulated with respect to lever 25. The lower end of lever 25 is shown beveled downwardly at 25 and 25 so as to contact with stops 30 and 33 substantially fiatwise in different positions of said stops. Felt or the like 35' may be provided upon stops 30 and 33 to be engaged by lever 25. Stops 30 and 33 may be arranged individually for each lever 25 (see Fig. 4), or may be of suiiicient 4 length to apply to any desired number of lovers 25 simultaneously, as, for instance, the stops 30 and 33 maybe rails to extend the length of thepianoand provided with .several screws 31- and 34 whereby the rails may be'adjustcd and bent as required by means of the rotation as required of the screws, see Fig. 3.

By means of my improvements stop 30 may be'mljusted by screw. 31 without there by changing the relation of stops 30 and 33 to eachother, as screw. 31 does not engage stop 33. whereby the'operative position of lever 25 with respect to projection 26* may be made for each such lever and projection,

the weight of abstract 26 or so as to take up any lost motion between any such lever and projection. By operating screw 34: which connects both stops 30 and 33, the stops 33 may be adjustedtoWa-rd or from stop 30, to regulate the thrust of lever 25.

The arrangement is advantageous in that adjustment may be made for any lever '25 without removing any of the. parts from the piano, and during such adjustment both stops 30 and 33 will move equally, and thereby maintain their previous relative positions byreason of said stops being connected together by screw 34 independent of screw 31 which meshes in hanger 32, thereby not disturbing the previous arrangement of the stops for the throw of lever 25', and yet when such adjustment for lever 25 is desired it is regulated by the independent operation of screw 34 for any lever to adjust stops and 33toward or from each other.

Having now described my invention what I claim is 1. The combination of a piano action, a plurality of pneumatics, a plurality of la I vers corresponding to the pneumatics, means to operate the corresponding mechanism of the action operate the levers by by the levers, means to the corresponding pneumatics, stops on opposite sides of the levers and means for independently adjusting said stops with respect to eachother, and 'means to adjust opposed stops conjointly with respect to the corresponding lever,

2..lhe combination of a piano, action, a plurality of pneumatics, a plurality of levers corresponding to the pneumatics,means ,vto adjust a. stop with respect to operate the corresponding mechanism of the action by the levers, means to operate the levers by the corresponding pneumatics, stops on opposite sides of the levers, means to a corresponding lever, and means connecting an opposite stop with the first named stop for adjusting said stops, wit-h respect to each other. V

3. Theicombination of a piano action, a

lever, means to operate the corresponding" the lever, and means connecting the vother stop with the first named stop for adjusting said stops with respect to each other.

5. The combination of a piano action, a lever, means tooperate the corresponding mechanism of the action by the lever, a stop adjacent the lever, a'hanger, a screw cbn-' necting the stop with the hanger, a second.

stop on the opposite .side of the lever, and 7 a screw connecting said stop with the first named stop;

- 6. The combination of a piano action, a lever, means to operate the corresponding mechanism of the action by the lever,' stops' on opposite sides of the lever, adjustable means connecting sa'd stops for adjusting one with respect to the other, and means for adjusting both of! said stops simultaneously.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, I 26th day of May, A. D. 191

LOUIS HQ MAIER. Witnesses WILLIAM A. V. Gama, T. F. BOURNE.

and State 'of NeW York, this 

